permaculture

[Fiona Campbell + Russ Grayson <pacedge@magna.com.au>]

David de Vries wrote:
> 
> Nine week Permaculture Internship based at the Permaculture Research
> Institute, Tyalgum, Tweed Valley, Australia.
> 
> To quote Skye:
> " The minimum of 72 hours for the Design Certificate Course is obviously 
> barely sufficient to scratch the surface of what is possible. Many 
> participants leave these courses with a sense of being overwhelmed, and 
> have difficulty deciding where to start.<


I can only agree with this. Perhaps the sense of being overwhelmed and
confused explains why many PDC graduates simply fade form the
permaculture scene.

>Often this is accentuated by the need to integrate the new concepts into 
>everyday life. To accomplish this, many people often soon find the time 
>visit other Permaculture projects, to live at those projects, or to going 
>WWOOFing.<


Some of our graduates have gone wooffing and visiting other permaculture
projects after completing a PDC and say that it was a worthwhile
experience.  

For the many people who simply cannot take time off work, study or
family commitments, the problem of integrating their new knowledge into
life certainly does present a problem. 

It presents less of a problem for out PDC students because our 18 day
courses are run on weekends, mainly on Sundays but a few Saturdays too.
Students have reported that this format allows them to review and take
in the information as well as to consolidate bonds of friendship which
develop with other students.
> 
> While the Internship, will not solve all these issues, it will enable
> people to make the necessary integration and adjustments in a more
> gentle, supportive manner."<

Yes, it should. It's good you're experimenting with internships. The
idea has been talked about in Australia but there has seldom been the
capacity to follow through, particularly in the cities. I believe that
the only other internships available have been those offered by Robyn
Francis at Permaculture Education in Nimbin. Congradulations for your
initiative - I hope it works.

The Australian City Farms and Community Gardens Network has also been
asked about internships and working visits by overseas people but the
problem of capacity to cope with this again arises.

It seems that issues of locating where peopple could work, the capacity
of different gardens to accommodate them, accommodation needs to be
thought out. 

To accommodate interns in the city in community garden or permaculture
situations would be a positive move because the cities are becoming the
focus of human settlement on the Earth and because they are such
resource sinks. If we are to have a habitable, sustainable planet then
it is imperative that the cities receive a great deal more permaculture
attention than they do at present.

>This is the full Permaculture Design Certificate curriculum permitting you 
>to undertake consulting and teaching work.<

I think that this might be the case where the student has some
preexisting skill to marry the permaculture knowledge to.

For people without this preexisting knowledge, going out to teach,
consult and design can bring problems. Poor work reflects poorly on
permaculture when done in the public sphere.

Whether we like it or not, the issue of perceptions of credibility does
affect permaculture. 

While we as a social movement (or whatever we are) might understand what
it is that new consultants are trying to do and what they are capable of
doing, decision makers in local government and other organisations
permaculturists deal with, as well as people in the design professions,
question our capabilities and base their decisions affecting
permaculture participation in a project on what they believe is within
our capacity to accomplish.

It is these people who make the decisions on whether a permaculture
community based project is allocated resources such as funds or public
land for its implementation. Their decision will be based on the
perceptions of permaculture they hold and these will have been
influenced on permaculture projects they have seen implemented. 

How do we deal with this? 

In our courses we graduate people as permaculture trainees. We encourage
them to then go out and gain experience. This may take the form of
further study, perhaps in a particular area in which permaculture
principles can be applied. It might also be implementing their own small
scale projects where they can do no harm or working with other
permaculturists to gain the necessary experience. We then encourage
them, after two years of applied and documented work in one or more
areas to apply to us for a diploma of permaculture design.

Good luck with your internships.

...Russ Grayson


-- 
PACIFIC EDGE PERMACULTURE
Russ Grayson and Fiona Campbell
PO Box 446, Kogarah NSW 2217 AUSTRALIA

Phone   02-9588 6931    (IDD-61+2+9588 6931)
Fax     9514 2611 (Mark fax: ATTN: RUSS GRAYSON - APACE) 
          (IDD-61+2+9514 2611)
Email: pacedge@magna.com.au

Permaculture education, publishing, design. 
NSW co-ordinator, Australian City Farms and Gardens Network.